The smell I hate more than anything on the planet is the smell of the airport duty-free shop. The mix of fragrances is quite horrible and I didn’t want my stores to smell of anything.
— Frederic Malle, quoted in Scents of self in the Australian, explaining the inspiration for the "smelling columns" in the Frederic Malle boutiques.
Maybe more than any other flower used in perfumery, iris is a chameleon. In Chanel No. 19 or Hermès Hiris, iris is as elegant as a beautifully dressed woman in a Mercedes sedan you admire from your seat in the bus. In Le Labo Iris 39, iris is as earthy and inviting as a rundown house with a wild garden and The Decemberists playing in the background. In Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist or Prada Infusion d’Iris, iris is intellectual and absorbing. Annick Goutal Heure Exquise and Guerlain L’Heure Bleue feature moody iris, and Frédéric Malle Iris Poudre and Gianfranco Ferré Ferré are infused with iris that oozes dressing room glamour. Yves Rocher Iris Noir is Party Girl iris.
With so many perfume lines to explore, I never spent much time with Yves Rocher. Yves Rocher fell between the cracks of the high-end niche lines and fêted perfume houses that are so alluring and the drugstore fragrances with their bargain prices and reverse snob appeal…
New at first-in-fragrance (Germany): Bois 1920 Come La Luna & Vento di Fiori, Il Profumo Pioggia Salata.
New at parfum1: Stella Sheer 2009.
New at senteursdailleurs (Brussels): Creed Acqua Fiorentina, Etro Pegaso.
Today we’re helping Alexandra, who occasionally comments here as ScentRed, find a new fragrance she can buy for her husband Chris. Alexandra has good access to perfume stores, and she’s willing to spend up to $175. For herself, Alexandra loves Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile, Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Woman, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, Annick Goutal Eau de Sud and Donna Karan Gold. Here is what she thinks we should know about her husband Chris:
Chris never wears fragrance and hasn’t owned a bottle since he was a teen. The truth is, he’s really just being a good sport and humouring his wife and her newly found fragrance obsession and in the process is hoping to find an interesting scent that makes her want to rip his clothes off…
Actress Sienna Miller for the newly launched Boss Orange fragrance for women. Please comment if you know the name of the band!